And off we go! The first choral feast of the choral season has begun already, with Vivaldi last night in Claremont, and more tonight over in Pomona and Walnut with the choirs of Cal Poly and Mount SAC, all just part of the first course. There are churches in action someplace to be determined, but the list begins with the other levels of choir between two colleges, being all of our local colleges, our local chorales and high schools too.
Composers on the menu include Bach, Biebl, Von Bingen, Britten, Bruckner, Buxtehude, Charpentier, Gabrieli, Gallus, Handel, Monteverdi, Pachebel, Pinkham, Praetorius, Rutter, Schutz, (more) Vivaldi, and more than enough madrigalists to satisfy your ear, just from the non-church choruses, just through Sunday the 14th of December.
And how about the church choirs? You’ll have to wait a few more days for news of churches and news of other choral activity (including some Handel, certainly!). However, last December over fifty services and special concerts with choir were discovered and listed here, so fear not about your second course. (Do feel free to announce yours!)
Let us give the last words to Vivaldi and Bruckner, with music you can hear in the next ten days.
Thursday, 4 December
6:00 p.m., Mount San Antonio College 17th Annual Wassail Dinner and Concert (ticket sales close Dec.1), Walnut
8:00 p.m., Cal Poly Kellogg Chamber Singers & University Concert Choir, Pomona
Friday, 5 December
6:00 p.m., Mount San Antonio College 17th Annual Wassail Dinner and Concert (ticket sales close Dec.1), Walnut
7:00 p.m., The Claremont Concert Choir, The Claremont Chamber Choir, Pinkham Christmas Cantata, Gabrieli, Schütz, other works, Claremont
7:30 p.m., University of La Verne Holiday Barbershop Show, La Verne
8:00 p.m., Pomona College Choir, music of O’Regan, Britten, McGlynn, Claremont
Saturday, 6 December
3:00 p.m., The Claremont Chorale, ”Mary’s Lullaby,” Claremont
6:00 p.m., Mount San Antonio College 17th Annual Wassail Dinner and Concert (ticket sales close Dec.1), Walnut
7:30 p.m., Chaffey College “Winter Choral Concert,” Rancho Cucamonga
7:30 p.m., The Claremont Chorale, ”Mary’s Lullaby,” Claremont
Sunday, 7 December
3:00 p.m., Pomona College Choir, music of O’Regan, Britten, McGlynn, Claremont
6:00 p.m., University of La Verne, “Winter Choral Showcase,” La Verne
Wednesday, 10 December
6:45 p.m., Ayala High School “Madrigal Feaste,” Chino Hills
Thursday, 11 December
6:00 p.m., Upland High School 28th Annual Elizabethan Dinner, (call for correct time), Upland
6:45 p.m., Ayala High School “Madrigal Feaste,” Chino Hills
Friday, 12 December
12:15 p.m., The Claremont Chamber Choir, Friday Noon Concert Series, Claremont
6:00 p.m., Upland High School 28th Annual Elizabethan Dinner, (call for correct time), Upland
6:45 p.m., Ayala High School “Madrigal Feaste,” Chino Hills
Saturday, 13 December
6:45 p.m., Ayala High School “Madrigal Feaste,” Chino Hills
7:30 p.m., Mountainside Master Chorale, ‘’A Baroque Christmas,” Claremont
Sunday, 14 December
3:30 p.m., Mountainside Master Chorale, “A Baroque Christmas,” Claremont
5:45/6:30 p.m., Northminster Presbyterian Church, “Christ’s Love in any Language,” includes the Vivaldi Gloria, Diamond Bar